When transporting articles by means of a conveyor, there are many instances in which the articles will back up or accumulate on the conveyor. When articles accumulate, they push against each other building up back pressure. A large back pressure is unacceptable when the articles being carried by the conveyor are fragile because the force of the articles pushing against each other tends to damage them. The back pressure also puts an extra load on the conveyor and sprockets and causes sliding friction and abrasion of the conveyor.
There have been solutions to the back pressure problems described above. U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,380 (“the '380 patent”) discloses a solution to backline pressure that includes providing shafts mounted above the top surface of belt modules. Each shaft carries a plurality of rollers forming a low back pressure conveying surface. The patent also discloses the use of an intermediate support for the shaft that permits the use of a smaller diameter shaft for wider belt modules thereby conserving material and reducing cost.
The intermediate support shown in the '380 patent is an upstanding wall having slot-like indentations in the top surface adapted to receive and support the shafts as best shown in FIG. 4. The slot-like indentations are narrow and completely surround the shaft making them difficult to clean without removing the shafts and therefore these indentations may lead to unsanitary conditions in food conveying applications.
Accordingly, what is needed is a low back pressure module that is easier to clean.